The 2026 Draft Thread - 1st Round - 7th overall

If I were Tunsil, there is NO shot I'd play under a 1 year contract this year. I'd hold out and make it difficult at the very least. And, given the way these things tend to work out, he'd probably get "hurt" and be unable to play.

He HAS to be extended. ASAP.

That is the first move we need to make this offseason.
 
Best and most cost-effective option with Tunsil is to agree to an extension which I'd think will happen this offseason.
 
Bulldog said:
Tunsil has a body of work in the NFL where he is not going to play out a one year deal with no security.

Trent Williams didn't with the 49ers. Lane Johnson didn't with the Eagles.

Tunsil has already shown himself to be a player a couple of level higher than Terry McLaurin.

If I am the owner, I pay him now. I really don't see why this is an issue.
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Yes no issue and AP said in the presser they would work to avoid the Terry contract issue in the future
 
DWinzit said:
Yes no issue and AP said in the presser they would work to avoid the Terry contract issue in the future
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I realize this is an obvious response... but until he is signed it absolutely could be an issue.

I think it happens, because the alternative is horrific. But I'm just saying... One thing we should learn is not to count our chickens before they hatch.
 
KDawg said:
I realize this is an obvious response... but until he is signed it absolutely could be an issue.

I think it happens, because the alternative is horrific. But I'm just saying... One thing we should learn is not to count our chickens before they hatch.
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You are totally right and I feel almost like I am off my game writing that. For much of the last off season I'd mention that we need to get Terry's contract done and posters kept telling me I was nuts, it will get done, he is a team captain, he is a Commander. Thanks for grounding me lol. Especially with Tunsil not having any real time to the team other than a one year stint
 
Bruh I swear if we don't extend Tunsil.

*unearths "Sell the Team!" sign*
Hello again, old friend. You may be needed once more.
 
I think we need to relax on this Tunsil talk. We're all in agreement, but it's too early. If both sides want an early extension, it'll likely be February or maybe March to match dollar amounts once FA begins.

Unfortunately the rumor out of Indy is that Alec Pierce isn't leaving, they'll franchise tag him if they have to. If that comes to pass, they'll re-work Pittman's contract or even release him if they have to. Pittman is apparently not viewed of as highly there as he used to be.

So WR come draft time could still be a big need.
 
Always Commander Never Captain said:
Unfortunately the rumor out of Indy is that Alec Pierce isn't leaving, they'll franchise tag him if they have to. If that comes to pass, they'll re-work Pittman's contract or even release him if they have to. Pittman is apparently not viewed of as highly there as he used to be.
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I think method man mentioned this. If they release Pittman, I'd sprint to scoop him up
 
I watched Miami against Pitt and Ohio St (but not the 3 sack Bain game).

Miami:
  • Bain does look a bit better lately, but not enough to raise him to Top 10. He just looks like a solid B player. There are too many examples where the blocking throws a wrench into his plans and he can't win the engagement quickly enough for his lack of elite athleticism to contribute afterwards. TE's hitting him really slow him down or stall him out. He's not the type of player who can get skinny and slip a TE coming out of the backfield to block him. I thought Bain usually does well in the run game, except when he tries to use agility to step around a blocker, he has at times lacked the juice to get back to his gap in time to meet the RB. Bain is just so feisty with leverage/core strength that he's able to keep his feet under him and never really seems to get off balance as much as you think. Definitely part of why his speed rush wins happen, the college OT's pushing him around the pocket aren't redirecting him that extra step wider. Is that still doable against NFL OT's though?
  • Mesidor is the better pass rusher, and he's not as bad against the run as I was led to believe. Or maybe I just mistook someone else's reputation on that for his. I wonder if he would have been drafted last year if it weren't for playing only 3 games in 2023. I don't know if this will work as well against NFL OL, but they put Mesidor and Bain on the same side of the defense and stunted them...it was awesome. Why hasn't Miami done this more?
  • Keionte Scott (CB) kept flashing, I didn't watch him specifically but he plays hard against run and pass. Could be a great Nickel for us (again did not watch him specifically)
  • Ahmad Moten (DT) might develop into a better pass rusher than Bain. He's not right now, but transition to the NFL sometimes unlocks some college players. He had a fair amount of quick interior pressure wins against Guards that really set things up for Bain & Mesidor. I think one of Bain's sacks was basically just a slow bull rush that set him up to take advantage of Mesidor & Moten preventing the QB from doing anything.
Miami's defense looks like a lot of pretty good college defenders that make each other better, but not seeing elite talent. They could have long rotational careers inthe NFL. I do wonder if Scott/Moten wind up getting the highest dollar amount on 2nd contracts in the NFL as I feel like both might have a bit more upside in the NFL.

Ohio State:
  • Arvel Reese's usage has changed a lot lately, but he still looks good in the rare pass rush snaps he gets. He's mostly in spy, or mirroring whoever is in the backfield. I do like that when he's in spy sometimes he'll still engage the OT hard with a big punch and then back off for the spy role.
  • Still need to watch Downs.
  • I'm not watching him specifically, but for an outside corner Davison Igbinosun is around the ball a lot. I need to watch him specifically (I've spent the watch time looking at Reese)
  • Did not watch Styles, but his coverage responsibility seems to be deeper than I thought. Reese was handling all the backfield coverage stuff (with good reason, Styles was late reacting to movement that wound up being a touchdown). I would be worried about that for Styles, unless his coverage is actually getting into crosser lanes/seams etc, but I doubt that. I feel like we would have heard about how awesome he was if he was doing that.
 
Riggo44 said:
I think method man mentioned this. If they release Pittman, I'd sprint to scoop him up
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What is Pittman's future role though? Can he still be both an Outside and Big Slot guy as he gets nearer 30 (he'll be 29 next season), or will he be just a Big Slot? Not looking it up, but I do feel like he's the WR on the Colts who fell off hard once Daniel Jones got hurt. While the other guys still produced.
 
What do you think we can get for Payne? A 3rd?

2026: $16.4M base salary + $5M roster bonus + $0.5M workout bonus, with a $28.01M cap hit
 
DogofWar1 said:
Bruh I swear if we don't extend Tunsil.

*unearths "Sell the Team!" sign*
Hello again, old friend. You may be needed once more.
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Not sure I would dig my sign out of the closet if they don't extend Tunsil (mostly because I think that's a given). However if they hire Morris as our DC I am 100% brining that sign out.
 
DogofWar1 said:
Bruh I swear if we don't extend Tunsil.

*unearths "Sell the Team!" sign*
Hello again, old friend. You may be needed once more.
Click to expand...
mcdonaldrw said:
Not sure I would dig my sign out of the closet if they don't extend Tunsil (mostly because I think that's a given). However if they hire Morris as our DC I am 100% brining that sign out.
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Hey, you guys need to get into post-Snyder.

You don't need to say "SELL THE TEAM" when the owner is not the GM.

You need to say "FIRE AP" which an actual doable thing. We got seriously, ridiculously lucky with Snyder being ousted. That was a one in a million happening.

Hopefully we have an owner who won't meddle. In that case, all you need if you want organizational reset is: "FIRE the GM" - not "Sell the team" --- and I am not agreeing that you are right on your premise, but you are 100% misguided in the end there. It's almost like you want an owner who is meddling, if you think the right thing to ask for is "Sell the team" in that situation. That is the LAST thing we want.
 
I think the 2024 results so wildly exceeded any team, ownership or fan expectations that not much was done in the offseason to 'rock the boat' and make significant changes or realize that some of the aging players that put in unexpectedly good seasons after being injured in their last stops (Ertz, Ekeler, etc.) might just revert to the mean in 2025.

We doubled down on the bet and didn't do much in free agency to acquire impact players. We more or less filled some holes with veteran minimum and lower-mid tier deals and thought that would be enough to come back strong.

I don't think Harris is a meddler. In fact I think he listened to Quinn and Peters who said they were 'close' and was all in on the lack of major moves.

One thing I think the entire organization learned as well as some fans is that while folks can talk about brotherhood and community and all the rest, at the end of the day this is a business.

Terry McLaurin caught Peters and others napping and the good vibes from 2024 had the organization convinced evidently that Terry would come back in 2025 and not cause much fuss over a new deal and would happily sign a team friendly extension OR play out his deal.

In retrospect that was naive.

But also instructive for the 2025 offseason.

We need to move on from older players on the roster who are more past than future and we also need to deal with expiring contracts and those like Tunsil and Payne who are a year away from a contract expiration will likely need to be dealt with early in the offseason and not allow these things to drag into the 2026 season, etc.
 
SkinsNumberOne said:
Hey, you guys need to get into post-Snyder.

You don't need to say "SELL THE TEAM" when the owner is not the GM.

You need to say "FIRE AP" which an actual doable thing. We got seriously, ridiculously lucky with Snyder being ousted. That was a one in a million happening.

Hopefully we have an owner who won't meddle. In that case, all you need if you want organizational reset is: "FIRE the GM" - not "Sell the team" --- and I am not agreeing that you are right on your premise, but you are 100% misguided in the end there. It's almost like you want an owner who is meddling, if you think the right thing to ask for is "Sell the team" in that situation. That is the LAST thing we want.
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Well I didn't want to have to spend money on a new sign but your point is correct. Guess if they bring in Morris it's Fire DQ sign being ordered, since it would mostly be his doing
 
RedWolf said:
What do you think we can get for Payne? A 3rd?

2026: $16.4M base salary + $5M roster bonus + $0.5M workout bonus, with a $28.01M cap hit
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Highly doubt it, personally. A 4th I think is a reasonably conservative estimate, maybe with a late pick swap.
 
I don't think Payne gets a 4th. I think him and Lattimore are easy cuts and that's all we'll get as other teams know they are being cut. I would happily take Lattimore back...but at like 5m not the 18m he's being paid
 
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